RESEARCH ARTICLE


Emerging Animal Parasitic Diseases: A Global Overview and Appropriate Strategies for their Monitoring and Surveillance in Nigeria



Ngongeh L Atehmengo1, *, Chiejina S Nnagbo2
1 Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria
2 Department of Veterinary Parasitology and Entomology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka


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Creative Commons License
© Atehmengo and Nnagbo; Licensee Bentham Open.

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria; Tel: +2348064645442; E-mail: mapalah@gmail.com


Abstract

Emerging animal parasitic diseases are reviewed and appropriate strategies for efficient monitoring and surveillance in Nigeria are outlined. Animal and human parasitic infections are distinguished. Emerging diseases have been described as those diseases that are being recognised for the first time or diseases that are already recorded but their frequency and/or geographic range is being increased tremendously. Emergence of new diseases may be due to a number of factors such as the spread of a new infectious agent, recognition of an infection that has been in existence but undiagnosed, or when it is realised that an established disease has an infectious origin. The terms could also be used to describe the resurgence of a known infection after its incidence had been known to have declined. Emerging infections are compounding the control of infectious diseases and huge resources are being channeled to alleviate the rising challenge. The diseases are numerous and include helminth, protozoal / rickettsial and entomological. A list of parasitic emerging diseases in Nigeria is included. Globally occurring emerging parasitic diseases are also outlined. Emerging and re-emerging infections can be brought about by many factors including climate change and global warming, changes in biodiversity, population mobility, movement of animals, globalisation of commerce/trade and food supply, social and cultural factors such as food eating habits, religious beliefs, farming practices, trade of infected healthy animals, reduction in the available land for animals, immune-suppressed host and host density and misuse or over use of some drugs leading to drug resistance.

Keywords: Animal parasitic diseases, causes, control strategies, emerging, re-emerging.